


Sorcerer of the Lake

by Evie87



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/M, Girl Power, Murder Mystery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-11-29 04:15:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18218075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evie87/pseuds/Evie87
Summary: Evelyn is drawn to a mysterious lake that she believes has called out to her, but her boyfriend would rather drive on. They are oblivious to the sorcerer's trap and are at his mercy. When Evelyn discovers she's not the first girl to get ensnared by the charming sorcerer, she must find it within herself to solve the mystery and defeat the sorcerer at his own game before she's claimed as his next victim.





	Sorcerer of the Lake

“Whoa!” A speeding motorcycle screeched to a halt. The driver put his foot down, crunching some dead leaves. He stared forward in shock and then glanced at a tiny screen, “That could have been bad. This lake isn’t on my GPS at all!”

“Huh, that’s weird,” came an intrigued reply. A young woman, who had been holding tightly onto the driver, hopped off the bike to investigate. She took off her helmet, wavy reddish brown hair tumbled past her shoulders. She faced an eerie lake surrounded by a perishing forest. Though the trees were skinny and dry, black and scarlet leaves still clung to the fragile branches.

The driver urged her back. “C’mon Ev, we should keep going; we’re gonna be late for dinner.” He stared at the back of her hair, wondering if she had heard him at all. After knowing her for more than five years, he shouldn’t have expected anything less in her behavior. At moments of intrigue she always acted so independent and secretive. He usually just followed along, not really understanding, but it was his way of showing support.

Evelyn’s green eyes were mesmerized by the vista for few more minutes before she exclaimed, “Greg, come look at this!”

Greg sighed and turned the motorbike off. Though he’d known her for five years, they were finally allowed to be a couple, and they were on their way to have dinner date with their mutual friends who were also a recent couple. So there wasn’t time to stop off at the lake, but he knew he had to obey. He removed his helmet, the evening sun brightened his short bleached hair. At the back of his neck, a tidal wave tattoo was also revealed. He set the kickstand and followed

Evelyn with forced interest. “Look at what?”

Evelyn smiled in admiration at the lake and then glanced up at Greg with a smile. Despite his bright blue eyes and strong jaw line, he looked every bit confused. She nudged him gently. “Do you see it now?”

“See what? It’s just a lake!”

Evelyn frowned and turned her gaze back to the lake. “It’s so beautiful…and sad looking.” She twisted her lips in thought. Nothing had grown around the lake except for the ring of trees, but their trunks were black as if they had been rotting for days. None of the trees on their drive down the road looked like these. Standing just outside the ring, Evelyn had detected something off about the whole scene, and the color of the tree leaves disturbed her. The forest ought to be thriving, not decaying. Unless there was something wrong with the lake. Through the trees, she could see an eerie fog that expanded from the lake out towards them.

“Yeah, I guess…” Greg craned his neck around skeptically. “A hidden lake circled by trees, er, dead trees. Very beautiful.” Greg looked at Evelyn hoping she’d forget about the lake and move on, but he should have known better. He sighed heavily and straddled his bike and crossed his arms, thinking it was not surprising that Evelyn had found something interesting along the way. She always seemed to find trouble. Greg hoped that after five years of trouble finding her, she would leave it alone, but Greg was starting to suspect that she craved the adrenaline rush. After all, a dinner date wasn’t exactly thrilling. And if she wanted to be late, she was going to take the blame, not him.

Evelyn was too intrigued by the fog to notice Greg’s absence. Slowly she walked between the blackened trees, making her way to the lake. She stepped over fallen branches and tiptoed around the dried grass, respecting the forlorn landscape. She sensed there was something sacred about this place, and the feeling grew as she drew nearer to the lake. As she passed a hand over the last tree, a patch of grass slowly turned from brown to green and sprouted a few tiny flowers. But Evelyn didn’t notice the change and continued towards the lake.

She stopped at a clearing, noting the lake was wide but devoid of life. All was quiet; no birds settled on the water nor did they fly overhead, and there wasn’t any wind that could ripple the water. But the mist was thicker here. She stood at the edge of grass and watched as the fog crawl around her knees. She blew on the fog, which ebbed away only for a moment before filling back into the shore.

She stepped back and watched as the fog continued past the shore reaching for her. Evelyn had the good sense then to turn back to the road, though the mist tried to tag along. Now she noticed the patch of flowers and ran to them. Her face lit up with excitement and she knelt by the patch prodding the petals. They didn’t whither at her touch, like she expected of the dead surroundings, and she looked around for more but this was the only spot.

A gust of wind kicked up and rattled the whole forest, making the scarlet leaves flutter. She glanced happily at them, hoping next for a creature to appear, but nothing did. Instead, she got the distinct impression that something was watching her.

“Greg!” She looked over her shoulder at him, grinning. “Maybe we’re here for a reason!”

“Or maybe we just took a wrong turn.” Greg yelled from his bike. “Ya know, I’ve been meaning to get Miekal to update the map on this thing,” Greg smacked the black box that sat on top of his bike. “But he’s been so busy until now. I was hoping that at dinner I could mention it. If we ever make it there.”

Another rustling noise came above her and Evelyn stood quickly. “Did you hear that?” She was scouting the tree branches all around her.

“Maybe.” Greg sighed again, getting off his motorbike. “What did it sound like?”

Evelyn squinted up and darted her eyes to the other trees. The branches bounced in the light wind. If anything had been in the tree, it was surely gone now. As she pondered deeply about what it could have been, Greg jumped at her from behind.

“Sneak attack!” He yelled, grinning.

Startled, Evelyn nearly fell over, but caught her balance. Feeling both annoyed and betrayed, she glared at him.

“Hey, hey, don’t give me that.” Greg pleaded while backing away with his hands in the air. “There’s nothing out here but us…and some dead trees. Now let’s go before Amelia thinks we’re being late _on purpose_.”

Evelyn wanted to ignore him. Couldn’t he tell that there was something off about this place? “Just give me another minute,” she fumed and walked away from him. Twenty feet away she found a gorgeous angle where the lake’s surface reflected the evening sun. The yellow-orange color of the sky tried to bring color to the lake, but it was drowned out by the dead tree silhouettes and restless mist. Evelyn leaned on a tree, arms crossed, while staring angrily at the fog.

She scanned the lake and trees again, but couldn’t concentrate because she was annoyed at Greg. The only sign of life that she felt was her own heartbeat; a fact she recognized as a good thing in a creepy dead forest. She feared it beat a little too loudly and could disrupt the tranquility of the lake.

She closed her eyes and tried to hone in on the absence of sound. She no longer felt like she was being watched and believed it had only been Greg who had been lurking near her. She sighed and crept back down to the edge of the water. She blew the fog away and inspected the condition of the water. It was clear; she could easily see the mud and sticks in the shallow end, which sloped out several yards before the fog began to cloud her view.

When the fog swallowed her crouched body, Evelyn heard a whisper. After looking all around and not finding anyone near her, she glanced at the fog suspiciously. She bent her head into the fog and whispered a “hello”. More of the same whispers echoed through the fog, and it sent chills down her back. She felt compelled to stay and flee at the same time. She waited in the fog, and as it got thicker, the voices grew louder, but were still blurred together. She started to think there was a Spirit in this lake, but couldn’t decide if the whispers were a cry for help or a warning. It all seemed like the fog came from the lake, and the lake was calling out to her.

Meanwhile, Greg had obediently waited at the first spot. After it had been well over a minute, he decided to go find her. Not wanting to startle her again, he whispered her name into the trees, “Ev... Ev?” before venturing in her general direction.

Greg’s voice stood out against the whispers in the fog. It was all she could hear now, and Evelyn grumbled. She exhaled making fog ripple out from her. Rolling her eyes, she spun around to see Greg’s indiscreet arrival, wishing he had just waited for her. Greg nearly missed seeing Evelyn crouched at the edge of the lake. The sight of her shrouded in mist with a glare directed at him, frightened him. He quickly found cover behind the nearest tree and knelt down in surrender. He poked his head out, “Evie, I’m sorry to bother you, but if you want to stay here longer, it’s all right with me. Honestly. Amelia is nice enough to arrange this dinner for the four of us, but I’m not too excited about spending time with her and Miekal. They’re too PDA.” He made a disgusted grimace.

Evelyn suppressed a laugh and gave him a merciful grin. “I agree about that, but it’s not why I’m lingering.” Evelyn’s face turned serious. “There’s something wrong with the lake. I can sense it.” She looked down and drew some circles in the dirt, “I’ll admit it. I created this detour.”

“What do you mean?” Greg dared himself to get closer.

Evelyn sighed and the fog retreated again. “I felt it as we were driving near. I told you to take a left at the fork because…” She woefully met his eyes. “I don’t know how else to explain it than that I felt something. You know, like, someone calling out to me, not an actual voice but just a feeling.”

“Have you felt that sort of thing before? I mean, is it like that when you use magika?”

Evelyn nodded, then thought for a moment. “Maybe that’s why you aren’t as distracted about it as I am.”

Greg grimaced, “Yeah, maybe.” He looked at her silently. “Well? What now? I’m okay with staying at this creepy lake if that’s what you really want.”

Evelyn tilted her head forward with an appreciative smile and squeezed his hand. “How’d I get so lucky with a guy like you? Can we stay a teeny bit longer? Then I promise we can leave. And on the way into town, I won’t tell if you break a few speed limits.” She winked and then looked concerned, “I don’t want Amelia and Miekal to suspect we took any kind of detour.”

“Suspect?” A huge smile grew on his face. “Who cares if they suspect, because it’s true…”

“What’s true?”

“That I have feelings for you.”

Evelyn giggled. “Oh really? When did that start?”

“It’s a _long_ story.” Greg moved his body closer to hers until he was inches from her face now. He smiled mischievously and locked eyes with hers. He grazed her cheek and made as if to whisper something important in her ear. Evelyn held her breath in anticipation, which turned out to be good as he purposefully shoved her into the lake with a huge splash.


End file.
